Curse on Berk
by UnknownBlackHand
Summary: WRITTEN BY A PRAISED AUTHOR: Fed up with the slaying of his Draconic children, Loki places a cursed treasure on Berk. Those who find it often become the thing they fear most. So what happens when it's Astrid that finds this cursed treasure? A good read for Hicstrid fans and transformation fic fans.
1. Chapter 1: Origins

**Chapter I: Origins**

It had been a year since the Hooligan Tribe settled on the island they've called Berk. I was a beautiful place for hunting, fishing, and romantic nights to stare at the sunsets. It was a perfect place for the Vikings, but it came with a great price, for there were dragons in these parts.

These mighty children of Loki were the terror of the Hooligan Tribe, but they were fearless Vikings with no desire to seek out a new home, and so they stayed, defending their village at all costs…

… The greatest price was death from both parties.

On a particularly unfortunate night, there was a great raid that led to the slaying of an exceptionally rare dragon that happened to be prized in the eyes of Loki. The dragon was known as a Submaripper, a gigantic dragon that took up residence in the waters the Hooligan tribe favored to fish in. Not only did the beast consume a lot of fish, but it released this stench that befouled their beautiful island, and so they killed it by lacing fish with poison.

When the beast finally met it's slow, sickly, demise, the Vikings cheered and hacked up the massive carcass to chum the waters to get the fish to come back, but to their shock, Loki came to the village that night, barged into the Great Hall during the celebratory feast. The hall fell silent as the enraged god looked the chief in the eyes and declared: "With the death of the Submaripper, you have slain and defiled the corpse of one of my most beloved children! You have also slain over a hundred of my other children! Do you plan on driving them to extinction? I won't allow it! For your disgraceful actions towards the dragons, I curse this island! There shall be a hidden treasure on Berk, and once in a generation, a child will find this treasure, and try to claim it for themselves, only to find that they will become the beast they fear most within three days! Yes, once in a generation, one of your own will be turned into a dragon!"

Loki left the Great Hall, and in the middle of the woods, Loki embedded a glorious battle axe into a stone pillar as his cursed treasure, and then he created a magic ring disguised as wildflowers, should the axe ever go past the flowers then he would appear to place the curse on the unfortunate soul who took the axe. Satisfied with his work, Loki turned and vanished.

The next day, the Chief's nephew found the axe and took it out of the stone pillar to take a look at it. He swung it around a few times, until he got carried away and brought the axe past the ring of wildflowers. Loki soon appeared before him and declared: "As the third moon rises, you shall become what your village fears most, a dragon!"

A patch of scales appeared on the lad's neck, they were this bluish-grey, and the nephew dropped the axe and ran back to his village. He ran straight for the healer, the healer summoned the nephew's father, and upon realizing that his son was cursed, he disowned his son, and he had been kicked out of the village. Three days later, the nephew became a Whispering Death, and spent a few months stealing food from the village before leaving the island to find a new home, never to be seen by his family again.

With each generation, one soul would take hold of Loki's cursed axe and would soon find that they would suffer one of three consequences: they would be ostracized by the tribe, they would simply wait out the transformation in the forest (hidden from the village) and then just never show their face again, or they would be killed before the final transformation even took place.

Then, by some miracle, there was almost a century that passed without anyone finding the cursed axe, and the legendary cursed axe of Berk became nothing more than a scary bedtime story. Of course, being this story, that was about to change.


	2. Chapter 2: Curse

**Chapter II: Curse**

It was now during the time of the reign of Stoick the Vast. His son was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a fifteen-year-old lad with a powerful imagination and worked with Gobber, the blacksmith, as his apprentice. The problem with Hiccup was that, although he had good intentions, he was quite clumsy, sometimes he could cause as much damage as a dragon could. However, during one particularly ambitious night for the young Viking, he went out during a raid with a bola launcher that he had invented, and watched the skies for the elusive Night Fury, one of the most fearsome dragons they've ever known!

After the beast shot a watchtower, Hiccup got a brief look at the Night Fury, took aim, and fired.

A hit!

The dragon fell and Hiccup relished his victory, but the feeling was short lived, as a Monstrous Nightmare chased him through the village. Naturally he caused some chaos when the Nightmare burned down a night torch.

"Sorry, Dad." Hiccup spoke. He knew the drill, as Stoick chewed him out on the regular, saying how that every time he stepped outside, disaster happened, and asking him why he couldn't follow the simplest orders. On the defense, Hiccup tried to tell Stoick that he hit a Night Fury, but nobody really believed him. So when everyone's back was turned, Hiccup snuck out and headed for the forest. However, the curious eyes of Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's secret crush, spotted him and decided to make sure that he wouldn't get himself killed out there. Hiccup may be the village screw up but every time Astrid brought her axe in to the shop to get sharpened, he always seemed happy to see her, he was always polite, and liked to talk to her. She actually hoped that some day his inner warrior would surface.

When Astrid had caught up to him, she called out: "Hiccup! Wait up!"

"Astrid, wh-what are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure that you wouldn't get yourself in trouble. Although I hardly believe it, I'd like to see this dragon you've shot down."

They spent a while searching for some sign that the dragon landed, but to no avail.

"Hiccup, perhaps we should go back to the village." Astrid spoke.

"No, I swear, I downed that Night Fury, and we're going to find it… or at least I am." He replied. He took a couple paces forward and smacked a branch out of his way only for it to smack him back in the face!

"OW!" Hiccup exclaimed. He took a better look at the tree the offending branch belonged to and noticed a trench carved into the ground. Something crashed through here!

"Astrid, take a look at this!" Hiccup called.

"I can see it… Wow, it looks like you might actually have something."

They followed the trail until they came across a large black figure on the ground, it was a dragon! THE dragon, a Night Fury! Hiccup approached while Astrid held back a short distance away.

"I did it! I have brought down this mighty beast!" Hiccup declared, and he pulled out his pocket dagger. He looked proudly towards Astrid and then they heard the dragon groan! Hiccup turned and heard it breathing deeply. He approached the head of the beast and looked into his large green eye.

"Go on, Hiccup, claim your prize! If you bring back proof that you killed a Night Fury, you'd become a legend!"

Hiccup didn't answer her, he just kept looking at the Night Fury. It's streamlined shape and black scales made for a beautiful creature that was the master of the night skies! He noted that the Night Fury's eyes were large to be more sensitive to the light, it had perfect camouflage for the night, and from the looks of the wings and tail, this was a creature that spent a lot of time in the air. The Night Fury took a look at the knife in Hiccup's hand and just dropped its head in defeat with a moan that said 'it's all over for me'.

Hiccup backed away and spoke: "Astrid, I-I don't want to kill him."

" _What?_ Hiccup, wasn't that what you wanted?"

"That was before I saw him… Astrid, this dragon is the breed that we fear the most, and now he's just laying here, waiting for me to do something while he's tied up and scared. You're a warrior, so how humiliating would it be for you to've been trapped and killed by an adolescent dragon?"

"He's a dragon, Hiccup! Are you really going to turn your back on glory and your father's approval just for the sake of this dragon that's caused us so much destruction?" Astrid exclaimed.

"Believe me, Astrid, I do want glory and my father's approval… but not at the cost of a dragon that can't even defend itself… It's just not right. My time will come for all of that, Astrid, just not today." Hiccup told her. He turned back to the Night Fury and spoke: "Listen, dragon, I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to cut these ropes, and you can be free to take to the skies again."

Hiccup pulled out his dagger and cut the ropes. When the Night Fury was freed, it leapt to its feet and stared Hiccup in the eye. Astrid readied her axe, but the dragon just roared in Hiccup's face and turned away… After suffering an impressive fall, it sustained only minor injuries, the wings and tail were completely intact.

"Astrid, lets go home." Hiccup stated.

They walked through the forest, but eventually they figured out that they were lost, at some point they simply got turned around, but even though they knew that they were lost, they didn't panic. Berk wasn't that big of an island, so at some point they were going to find their way back to the village.

"I still can't believe it." Astrid stated.

"That I freed the dragon? I gave my reasons." Hiccup replied.

"It's not just that, it was the fact that it didn't kill us! Aren't dragons supposed to be machines of death?"

"Perhaps we don't really know enough about them to realize their true nature." Hiccup stated. Astrid shrugged him off.

After a while of wandering, they came across a small clearing. At its center was a stone pillar with an amazing axe embedded in it and surrounded by beautiful wildflowers!

"Hiccup, look at that axe! Have you ever seen anything quite like it?" Astrid exclaimed, and she went right up to it for a closer look, it had a shining blade engraved with ancient runes, a spear-like tip at the top of the weapon, a fine wooden handle with ornate carvings, and a fine leather grip!

"Wait, Astrid, do you remember the tale of Loki's cursed treasure? I don't think that you should touch it!" Hiccup told her.

"Hiccup, that's just a bedtime story, and in none of those stories did they say what the treasure was. However, if it makes you feel any better, I'll put it back right after I have a good look at it! I promise!" She replied. She grabbed the axe, pulled it from the stone pillar, and nothing happened.

"You were saying, Hiccup? I have the axe, and nothing happened." Astrid stated. Hiccup looked down and shook his head while Astrid gave it a few practice swings. The axe felt like it had been perfectly made for her, it was the right size and weight for her to wield it! No doubt that she could cause a lot of damage with it.

However, Astrid got carried away as she swung the axe, and she stepped over the ring of wildflowers with the axe still in her hand. At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest, and from the trees emerged the figure of a man. As he stepped into the light, they saw that it was the god Loki, bearing a sinister grin on his face!

The teens' eyes widened as Loki stared them down, and he spoke: "Well, well, at long last, someone's come to meet the curse I've put on Berk. You, my dear maiden, stole the axe, and now the curse belongs to you."

"No, wait! I swear I had every intention of putting it back after I had a good look at it!" Astrid exclaimed, and she stuck the axe back in the pillar.

"It's far too late for that now. Whosoever steps beyond that ring of flowers with the axe in their hands is fated to suffer the curse as a consequence of your ancestors' actions in the slaying of my beloved, draconic, children!" Loki told her, and before she could react, Loki extended an arm towards Astrid and a magical light bore into her heart!

"No!" Hiccup shouted.

Astrid cried out as if in pain and collapsed to her knees. She looked to her forearm and saw that a patch of blue scales had shown up.

"At the stroke of midnight, three days from now, you'll have turned into a dragon… Goodbye." Loki told her.

"No, wait, Loki!" Hiccup called out, he rushed towards the god and took him by the upper arm. Loki stopped in his tracks, looked Hiccup in the eyes, and pulled out of his grip. He kept staring into Hiccup's eyes, he held no fear or malice. If anything, he looked determined to accomplish something.

"You, I can see it in your eyes, you've just recently trapped one of my more prized children, a Night Fury, you set out to slay him, but instead you set him free. Yes, you actually saw my child for what he was back there! You didn't see a mindless monster, you saw a soul! So what is it that you wish to ask of me?"

"I want you to place the curse on me."

"You? Out of your entire tribe, you've proven that you'd be the last Viking I'd place the curse on. It's to punish those who've slain my children, you've actually spared one that would've given you glory in your tribe."

"I care about her, and I don't want her to be alone in the world without a friend. If sparing the life of the Night Fury places you in debt to me, then that is how I want you to repay me, for taking her away from the tribe would feel like a punishment to me as well."

"I see it in her eyes, she sees you as a weak and sorry excuse for a warrior. Whatever feelings you have for her, she does not reciprocate. I'd sooner suggest that you find another girl."

Hiccup looked towards Astrid and she looked down and off to the side in sadness. He looked back to Loki and told him: "Perhaps she doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her, I'm actually not that surprised, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop feeling the way I do about her. Loki, please, I'll even take the axe if that means that you'll put the curse on me too."

Loki stood straight as he looked down at Hiccup and with an amused smirk, told him: "Well, there is a perk in knowing that you're the chief's son, and I can see that you'll make for a handsome Night Fury yourself. Very well, I'll put the curse on you, and I'll disclose this to you: When the time comes where your entire tribe learns to appreciate, perhaps even love, the dragons, I'll lift my spell from the both of you."

Hiccup gave him a nod, and stood straight before the god as Loki placed the curse on him too, a patch of black scales appeared on his neck.

"Just like it is for your friend, you'll become a dragon at the third night. Goodbye." Loki told him, and then he vanished.

Hiccup turned to face Astrid and offered her a hand to pull her up. She took it and once she was on her feet she pulled Hiccup in for a hug and started weeping: "Hiccup, I'm so sorry, I should have listened to you."

"Hey, hey, we're going to get through this. Come on, we should find a place to make camp. I doubt we'll be able to conceal these scales."

"Agreed." Astrid replied.

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 **Apologies if the story seems rushed in any way, I am more of one of those writers that likes to get to the point.**

 **Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3: Revelation

**Chapter III: Revelation**

Hiccup set up a campsite while Astrid went out for a hunt. He managed to find a small cave that they could sleep in together, and accumulated enough wood for a good fire to cook on. He managed to get it to light using a piece of flint and the blade of his dagger, and managed to get a nice flame going by the time Astrid arrived with two salmon and a boar to eat.

They cooked the kill right away and ate in peace.

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The second day was also peaceful they mostly just spent it hunting and just talking. It turned out that, for Astrid, Hiccup could hold a really interesting conversation, and heard a few good stories. He even heard of some gossip that he picked up on while he had been working at Gobber's shop.

"Really, I didn't know that Gunnar had a thing for Boneytalon."

"Yeah, he even tried to get me to make him a proposal axe for her."

"Did you?" Astrid asked.

"No, I know Boneytalon, and so I told him that she was more of a sword Viking. So he ordered a sword for her, I took good care to make it one of the best swords I've ever made. Now he's got to summon enough courage to give it to her." Hiccup replied.

Some time passed when they heard someone calling out their names: "Hiccup… Hiccup… Astrid!"

"That's my dad." Hiccup spoke in a hushed voice.

"What do we do?" Astrid asked.

"Honestly, I think he should know the truth. Loki told us that the way to break the curse would be if the whole tribe learns to appreciate dragons. Well, this could be the first step down that path." Hiccup told her. He got to his feet and called out: "Dad!"

"Hiccup!" Stoick boomed and he ran over to them: "What have you and Astrid been doing out here, we've been worried sick!" He obviously didn't notice that they had scales on them.

"I came here in search of the dragon I shot down." Hiccup replied.

"Oh, well it's been over a day, so where is it?" Stoick asked.

"I found it, Dad, but after seeing the Night Fury just tied up, unable to defend itself… I just couldn't kill it, so I cut it loose."

"It's the truth, Stoick, Hiccup really did shoot down the Night Fury." Astrid stated.

"So why didn't the two of you return home?" Stoick asked. Astrid and Hiccup exchanged glances for a moment, and Stoick didn't notice anything different about the teens. Hiccup met his father's eyes again, and told Stoick: "Dad, the Night Fury wasn't all that we found out here… Astrid, would you please show him your arm?"

Astrid got to her feet and showed Stoick the scales on her arm and told spoke: "Remember the legend of Loki's cursed treasure? Well I found it and picked it up, not knowing what it really was. Nowhere in the legend did they say that Loki's cursed treasure was an axe! I picked up the treasure, and Loki put the curse on me… As for Hiccup…"

Hiccup showed Stoick the scales on his neck.

"Son…" Stoick spoke, his eyes turning sad.

"Loki was quite appreciative to meet someone who saw his draconic children as more than just mindless killing machines. After he put the curse on Astrid, I told him to put it on me too."

"Why, Hiccup?" Stoick asked, his tone severe.

"Dad, I care about Astrid, and I didn't want her to be alone in this world." He replied. Stoick sat down, his eyes distant. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Hiccup asked: "Dad, would you have don't the same if this happened to Mom?"

Stoick sighed deeply and told Hiccup: "You might have a point there, son… It's just that dragons are our enemies, and the curse, according to legend, states that the transformation would be in full effect in three days. It's not a lot of time to say 'goodbye'."

"Dad, Loki told me of a way that you could help us break our curse."

"Is that so? Tell me, Hiccup, how can the curse be broken?" Stoick asked.

"The whole tribe must learn to appreciate dragons. If we can better understand the dragons, then perhaps we can make it so that they won't be our enemies anymore."

"To finally settle the feud between the Vikings and dragons, after all these years… it will take some time, Hiccup." Stoick replied.

"Dad, you have time. I know that you're not going to break the curse in a fortnight. I know that Loki's curse will take full effect before you can break it, and I've at least accepted that. Astrid, what about you?"

"Hiccup, for once in my life, I am truly afraid… but I'll do what I can to accept my fate."

Another moment of silence passed over them before Stoick asked: "So, do either of you have any idea as to what dragon's you're turning into?"

"I have no idea, I just know that I'm getting blue scales." Astrid replied.

"After setting the dragon loose, Loki told me my dragon. I'll become a Night Fury." Hiccup replied.

Stoick sat back, looking at Hiccup with slightly widened eyes. Hiccup gave his father a curious look before Stoick explained: "My son, to become the offspring of lightning and death itself… I'm almost proud."

"You are?" Hiccup questioned.

"Night Furies are powerful and feared dragons; and those are traits that most Vikings want. Hiccup you've always been a caring and creative boy, but I'll admit that I've long hoped to see a warrior come out of you at some point. Although, I do hope that once the curse is in full effect, you'll maintain your mind."

"I hope so too… Listen, Dad, Astrid and I only have until after tomorrow night to be human."

"I see… Hiccup, I promise that I won't disown you, but it would be safer for you and Astrid to leave Berk as soon as you're able to. In the meantime, perhaps we could use this time to say goodbye. Also, I'd like to have a good look at a Night Fury, since we know so little about them. I'll go back to the village to fetch some provisions and come back, Astrid, is there anything that you want me to tell your parents?" Stoick asked.

"Just go on and tell them the truth, they're bound to find out anyway, but I don't want them to see me." Astrid replied. Stoick nodded and departed.

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Stoick returned with food and blankets and told Astrid: "Your parents… I told them the truth, and they didn't take the news all that well. I told them that you were otherwise in good health, and I told them that breaking the curse is possible, but there's no doubt that they're going to miss you."

"Did they ask to see me?" She asked.

"They told me that they wished to remember you as their proud warrior, not as a cursed Viking. Are you alright with that?"

"Yes, I really don't want them to see me anyway."

Stoick nodded to her.

"Dad, if you had Loki's curse put on you, what dragon would you hope you'd become?" Hiccup asked.

Stoick thought about it for a moment, he had seen a fair number of dragons over the years, and then replied: "I've heard legends of the ferocity of the Skrill and those Monstrous Nightmares really do show a lot of power too. I could probably say Night Fury, but I haven't had a good look at one, yet."

"Yet?" Astrid questioned.

"If there is a way to break the curse someday, then I'm not going to leave you two until I believe that you can survive as dragons, and that will be when the two of you start flying and start breathing fire." Stoick told them, putting a hand on their shoulders.

"Thanks Chief." Astrid spoke.

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 **Please review if you're enjoying this!**


	4. Chapter 4: Cursed

**IV: Cursed**

That evening, Stoick decided to tell Hiccup all the stories he had about his mother, Valka, particularly ones that he never even mentioned to Hiccup. Apparently Valka had a certain belief that dragons were more than what they seemed to be. He also told the story about their first date, and he accidentally said something that earned him a club to the head, but he did what he could to make up for it.

Stoick fell asleep early that night, and Astrid pulled Hiccup aside and kissed him!

"Whoa, what was that about?" Hiccup asked.

"I wanted to thank you for all that you've done, and I've never had a romantic kiss before. I wanted to see what it felt like before we go full dragon." Astrid replied. Hiccup pulled her in for another one and they embraced.

That night, they actually slept cuddling together.

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The next morning, they found that the curse had spread while they had been asleep. Hiccup's nails had turned into claws, and Astrid found that her fingers had this sort of webbing on them, looking as if her arms were going to become her wings.

Stoick still stayed with them, and took them fishing. Hiccup never really had the patience for fishing, but in this case he managed to stay there without going on a troll hunt.

They reeled in several salmon and cod which they filleted and salted so they'd be preserved for a while.

All the while they were fishing, they told stories, Stoick told of how he and Gobber became close friends, Astrid told of the Snoggletog she got her first axe, and Hiccup told of how one day Gobber had him make a sword for the first time… It actually turned out pretty good.

"What happened to that sword?" Stoick asked.

"Oh, Gobber let me keep it, he had me make it to see if I was ready to handle forging weapons. I keep it in the little workshop connected to the smithy… Actually, Dad, I've got quite a bit of notes in there. They're mostly ideas I had in making new weapons, like a bola launcher; in fact I've already built a working prototype of that bola launcher and shot down the Night Fury with it."

"Hmm, Gobber and I'll have to take a closer look at those then. If we see some potential for them, you'll have quite a bit of work to do once the curse is broken."

"Dad I don't think that I've ever seen you so optimistic before." Hiccup stated.

"Son, I know I've been hard on you, and I'm sorry that I've never really appreciated what you had all along. It's true that when I found out that when I had a son, I was expecting you to be like me, but you were always your own person."

"Thanks, Dad."

"So, Stoick, since you're so optimistic, how do you plan on getting the tribe to accept and appreciate dragons?" Astrid asked.

"I'll start by thinking of a way to minimize the bloodshed during their raids. Perhaps I could have the tribe leave out some food that the dragons could actually steal, but the problem is that they take so much." Stoick replied.

"Perhaps as Astrid and I are learning more about _being_ dragons, we could report back here to update you with the new information. I may not be able to talk to you during that time, but I should be able to scratch runes in the dirt." Hiccup stated.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Astrid put in.

"Very well… The Ingermans' son, that Fishlegs, seems to have a good head on him, perhaps he could have a look at the dragons we have in the training arena and study them closer for us with some of that information. In the meantime, the other teens are at that age where they should also be learning how to defend themselves from hostile dragons." Stoick stated.

So at least they had a plan then.

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By afternoon, Astrid told Hiccup that she had something that she wanted to say, and so they excused themselves to go for a walk.

"You said that you wanted to tell me?" Hiccup questioned.

"Hiccup, I'm not one to admit to something like this, but tomorrow, we're going to be dragons! You at least know which one you're going to turn into, but I have no idea what I'm going to become, and it scares me! All I have to go on are these blue scales and this webbing between my fingers! What's that going to make me? Of the dragons I know of I could be anything from a Monstrous Nightmare, Deadly Nadder, I've heard that Whispering Death's have no legs and they can be bluish in color, or am I going to be some weird dragon that I've never even heard of? Just not knowing is making me scared."

"Hey, hey, Astrid, you're going to be okay, and at the very least you're going to be a dragon with only one head, and you're not going to be something as slow as a Gronkle, or as small as a Terrible Terror. Does that put your mind at ease at all?"

Astrid wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered: "A little bit… Hiccup, your father may feel confident that he could get the curse broken, but it's going to take some time. I've always felt like I was born to be a soldier, I can't be one as a dragon! I feel like I'm going to lose everything!"

Hiccup put a hand on her shoulder and spoke: "Hey, I understand that you're scared, but you're not going through this alone… I'll admit that I'm not as worried as you are, but you're at least going to have a friend that cares about you."

"Hiccup, how long have you had this crush on me?" Astrid asked, wiping away a tear.

"Since I was at least nine or ten; Cousin Snotlout was always picking on me, so to see you actually stand up to him one day and punch him in the face, it really wowed me… So about that kiss… was there any meaning behind that?"

"Well, believe it or not, Hiccup, I've never kissed a guy before you. It was something that I was hoping to share that with someone special."

"Oh…" Hiccup said, his voice trailing off.

"Yeah, I ended up saving it for someone who was willing to give up his human body just so I would have a friend. Yeah, your being cursed too does make me feel a little better." Astrid replied.

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The Night of the Curse fell, and so by morning, Hiccup and Astrid would no longer be human and so they shared one last kiss while Stoick had his back turned, the Chief had fallen asleep, and Astrid soon turned herself in for the night a little while afterwards. Hiccup didn't feel all that tired as he sat up against a tree, listening to the night.

To break his trance he heard approaching footsteps of a person. Hiccup looked and saw that Loki had returned.

"Huh, you're still awake… how strange, usually the cursed are asleep by this time during this night." Loki spoke.

"It might be because I'm turning into a nocturnal dragon to begin with." Hiccup replied.

"Perhaps, you are a unique case. You are the first cursed one to become a Night Fury… As for your friend, I've planned something special for her too." Loki stated. He turned to face Astrid and raised a hand.

"WAIT! Why don't you transform me first? Wouldn't that be more interesting, since I'm not asleep yet?" Hiccup asked. Loki turned to him and replied: "Now why would I do that? I'll save the best for last. Besides, your friend was the one to pick up the axe, so transforming you first wouldn't be fair. I fulfilled your wish to be cursed as well, Hiccup, but now I'll do things my way."

He raised his hand again and threw a magical light into Astrid's body! Her form twisted and shifted, growing, until her body became that of a dragon! Hiccup couldn't quite make out what dragon she turned into, but he could make out several spikes. Then he turned his attention to Loki, got to his feet and looked him in the eyes.

"I really do suggest that you try and fall asleep before I transform you." Loki stated.

"I'm not afraid, Loki, I'm ready to become a dragon."

"Suit yourself then." Loki replied, he raised his hand to Hiccup and threw a magical light into his heart! Hiccup fell to the ground, his body contorting as he was overwhelmed with a number of sensations! A pair of wings grew from his back, a tail sprouted with flight fins flaring out on each side, his limbs oriented themselves to accommodate the locomotion of a quadruped, his entire body was covered in black scales, and before he was finished, he collapsed out of exhaustion, the rest of the change taking place as he was asleep.

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Hiccup woke up to the sensation of something nudging him in the shoulder. He opened his eyes to a, thankfully, cloudy morning for his light-sensitive eyes. However, the first thing to come into focus was the face of a dark blue dragon, and one that he was not that familiar with! He jumped up with a yelp, which in dragon-tongue was a loud roar, that in turn made Stoick wake up and jump to his feet looking to get in on a fight, Astrid was startled and jumped back with a roar with her wings flared up. Hiccup threw himself between Astrid and his father in order to protect him and let out a roar in the process.

Before things could cool down, an unexpected visitor arrived…

… It was the Night Fury that Hiccup released a few days before. He entered their area with a pounce and a roar! He looked between the two dragons and the Viking, and wasn't sure where he was needed!

Stoick stood firm, staring at the new Night Fury, but Hiccup threw himself between the other dragons and Stoick with a roar, and everyone finally backed down. Hiccup scratched the ground, writing the words: _Dad, this is the Night Fury I shot down._

"Well, thanks for the introduction… So, I guess that leaves the blue Skrill to be Astrid." Stoick stated.

"You hear that Astrid? You're a Skrill!" Hiccup declared, and to Astrid's surprise, she understood the roars and growls! Astrid had dark blue scales and a frill of long black spikes, with long spikes running down her spine. Like a Night Fury, Skrills were also in the Strike class of dragons and were pretty rare.

Things were about to get pretty interesting…

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 **Okay, I hope that this chapter brought a bit of drama that some of you guys felt you were missing out on.**

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	5. Chapter 5: Go

**Chapter V: Go**

Astrid stared at herself in a stream of water. She had a long arrow-shaped head with a frill of black spikes; her teeth were uniform in shape and all ended in points in her large maw. She shuffled her large wings that had large claws at the joint where bones spread out like fingers.

A Skrill… on Berk to kill a Skrill would be almost as good as killing a Night Fury; a feast would be thrown in the slayer's honor! However, as Astrid looked at herself she saw one of the deadliest of dragons looking back at her, and she was that dragon. She was almost proud.

Now that everyone had calmed down, the new Night Fury and Hiccup were actually going over some lessons. Astrid had heard Hiccup explain to the other dragon that they were Vikings that had only just turned into dragons. So the dragon told him what he'd have to work on when he starts to try flying. Hiccup had shown the Night Fury that he had control over his wings, so the other dragon lectured on about his tail, how the fins helped to carry some weight so Night Furies could stay in the sky longer, and how they helped to sharpen turns.

After the lecture, the Night Fury provoked Hiccup to give flying a shot, and while the first two tries were a little clumsy, he managed to get airborne and circle above the treetops for a while on his third attempt! Astrid was inspired to give it a try for herself and spread her wings to take off too. With her wings once being her arms and having a less complicated tail, Astrid had an easier time trying to fly than Hiccup!

Stoick was taken aback, he wasn't expecting either one of them to start flying their first day as dragons!

"I'm going to get Fishlegs, no doubt that you'll be ready to leave the island soon, but now's the time to learn as much as we can about Skrills and Night Furies." Stoick told them. He got to his feet and took his leave. Astrid and Hiccup had to entertain themselves and the Night Fury.

"So, would you be up to learning how to fish?" The Night Fury asked Hiccup.

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Stoick returned to the area with Fishlegs in tow, and told him: "Be on your guard, you're going to be in for a shocking sight."

"Mind telling me what I'm going to see?" Fishlegs asked.

They made it to the cove and Stoick revealed to Fishlegs the two Night Furies and the Skrill.

"Oh dear." Fishlegs whimpered.

One Night Fury caught sight of Stoick and Fishlegs and bounded right over and made a friendly trill towards Fishlegs. The Skrill looked their way and meandered right over to them too, looking down at Fishlegs with friendly eyes.

"Uh, Stoick, what's going on here? Why aren't we killing these dragons?" Fishlegs asked.

"Do you remember the legend of Loki's cursed treasure?" Stoick asked him.

"Yeah, the one where if someone takes the treasure, they'd be cursed to become a dragon… Oh dear, who were these dragons?"

"Hiccup and Astrid." Stoick replied plainly. Fishlegs turned to Stoick with wide eyes, and Stoick nodded to confirm what he'd just said was true.

"H-Hiccup?" Fishlegs stammered, looking at the Night Fury in the eyes. Night Fury Hiccup made a trilling sound and shrugged his shoulders and wings, and Skrill Astrid perched on a boulder spread out her wings and let out a roar.

"So, Chief Stoick, why are we here?" Fishlegs asked.

"Listen, Fishlegs, aside from Hiccup you're the most bookish Viking on Berk, and Hiccup can't exactly write right now, at least on paper. So I've brought you here to take some more notes on these dragons."

"Oh thank you, Chief! This will be such an honor. Okay, Hiccup, let's have look at you and the other Night Fury." Fishlegs stated. Hiccup called the other Night Fury over and Fishlegs looked them over: "Alright, large eyes and pronounced ears, it means that the Night Fury relies on sight and hearing, and the eyes are meant to see in low lights, hence why they're nocturnal. Dark colorations give it the perfect camouflage for the night, no wonder we've never gotten a close look at these beasts. Okay, a streamlined body with large wings, and a long tail with finning to help aid in lift and agility, these dragons are masters of the sky! They are certainly meant to be among the fastest dragons in the world, and are able to spend long periods of time in the air." Fishlegs stated.

Hiccup held himself proudly and trilled, and then Fishlegs looked over to Astrid and looked her over: "Dark scales, good for hiding in the darker skies, sharp uniform-shaped teeth, short claws on its feet, most likely catches its prey with its large mouth."

Astrid let out a short screech, but Fishlegs still jumped back, but he was still willing to look her over.

"Alright, large wings, somewhat streamlined, again more comfortable in flight, but not as adapted to stay in the air like a Night Fury. Then again, the Skrill cannot generate its breath like other dragons, so it has to use the lightning it's got for defense and maybe for hunting."

"Thank you, Fishlegs." Stoick replied, and he passed the book of dragons to him so the information could be recorded.

In the meantime the wild Night Fury nudged Hiccup and shot a plasma blast, and Hiccup gave it a try himself and soon met with success. Once again, Stoick was taken aback; Hiccup was starting to make for a better dragon than a Viking.

"Chief, is there something wrong?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes, my son's a dragon, look at him, he's got wings, scales, and he's shooting fire… He shouldn't be better at being a dragon than a Viking." Stoick replied. He then told Hiccup it was time for he and Astrid to leave. Hiccup looked to his father with a look of confusion, and Stoick told him: "You can fly and shoot now, and if someone finds you, I'd hate to think of what may happen to you, now once that sun sets, both you and Astrid need to get out of here."

With that Stoick turned to Fishlegs and motioned for the boy to follow him as he left the dragons on their own.

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"Hiccup, the sun is setting, and your father wants us off this island." Astrid stated.

"Well if you're looking to get off this island, I know of a few dragon-friendly places." The wild Night Fury added. He had since been called Toothless, and all dragons tossed up their wings to take their leave to parts unknown.

As they followed Toothless, they ended up getting caught in a lightning storm, the bolts struck Astrid, and they filled her with a sense of strength and power, she felt livelier, and for once seemed to have a sense of enjoyment in being a Skrill!

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 **So where are they off to?**

 **Please review, and please check out my other works.**


	6. Chapter 6: Wings

**Chapter 6: Wings**

Toothless led Astrid and Hiccup beyond Helheim's Gate, and they flew past a volcanic mountain and Toothless told them that it was a place full of miserable dragons under the power of a bloodthirsty mountain of a dragon, a Red Death.

"She sends dragons to your island to steal your prey animals." Toothless stated, he spoke and flew quietly past the mountain.

"I should tell my dad about this place!" Hiccup told him.

"Do you wish for his death? If a flock of dragons live in fear under her power, then you should feel the same. She's a living mountain, a torrent of fire, and a cannibal."

Astrid and Hiccup shivered a bit between their wings as they passed the island, unnoticed by other dragons, and Toothless kept leading them towards parts unknown. They flew for another hour before Toothless announced that they were going to land at the next island.

Upon their landing, they saw a few holes in the ground, they were the burrows of other dragons.

"Toothless, why are we here?" Hiccup asked.

"While you were learning how to be dragons, I took the liberty of studying your so-called curse. Turns out, you're not the only ones, there are still some that live on, and they've claimed this island as their home." He replied.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other for a brief moment before they followed Toothless down one of the burrows. Though the burrows were dark, they had no problems finding their way through the tunnels.

They soon found a nest of dragons: a Whispering Death slithered about, a yellow Deadly Nadder gnawed on a bone, a Timberjack was sleeping, and a green Monstrous Nightmare looked as if it was organizing a pile of treasure.

Before Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless could step inside the chamber the Whispering Death blocked their way, reared up, and spoke: "Halt, from where dost thou hail?"

The language of the Whispering Death took Hiccup and Astrid by surprise, it was old, and his voice was commanding, but shaking off that surprise, Hiccup told him: "We're from the Island of Berk."

The remaining dragons perked up and took immediate interest, and the Whispering Death eased up and asked them: "Art thou a finder of the Cursed Axe of Loki?"

"Not him, that was me, but we are under the same curse, cast on us at the same time." Astrid replied. She then asked him: "Who're you?"

"We are the Clan of the Cursed Axe, and I am their leader: Bones Hardhock, nephew of the great Chief Brickmaw the Bonecrusher!"

"Hardhock… Brickmaw the Bonecrusher… How is this possible? Chief Brickmaw was the first of Berk's chiefs, and died over two-hundred years ago." Hiccup spoke.

"Our lifespans have been lengthened so that we may suffer our curse for longer." Bones replied. He turned to the other dragons and announced: "The Timberjack be'eth lady Bladeshine, the Monstrous Nightmare is sir Moldy, the Deadly Nadder sir Slagathor! Now that thou knowest thee and mine companions, who art thou?"

"Toothless, a friendly dragon towards these two."

"I am Astrid Hofferson of Berk."

"I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the only son of Chief Stoick the Vast!"

The other dragons perked up again and bowed their heads to Hiccup.

"Thou art our heir! The first son of a Chief to have been taken by the Curse of the Axe!" Bones exclaimed. He then turned to Toothless and asked him: "If thou not hail from Berk what bringst thou here?"

"Your kin need a safe place to stay, and I knew who you were." Toothless replied.

"So Bones, if you're the first one to have been cursed, then why are there so few of you?" Astrid asked.

"Ah, hast thou not heard of the others' fates?" Bones asked.

"To be honest, until recently, Loki's cursed treasure had faded into a legend; we're the first to've found it in a few generations. As for your fates, we've never expected that you were still alive, most of us would've assumed that you've all died out." Astrid replied.

"In that case, thou shalt know the others' fates: You see, not everyone who's suffered the curse had it as easily as us. There were those that met their death from their father's or brother's hands before the curse claimed them. Then there were those poltroons whom could not abide living out the curse, and so slew themselves! Finally, there were some that had lived with us at some point, but their minds were corrupted and they became dragons of the heart and mind as well as the body, thus they left. So despite outward appearances I be'eth a Viking in heart!" Bones declared.

Hiccup stepped into their chamber and took a closer look around; he saw that Moldy's pile of treasure was mostly compiled of relics from Berk, and stolen artifacts.

"So what have you been doing all this time?" Hiccup asked.

"We just try to leave in peace on this island, you're welcome to stay here too." Bladeshine replied.

"So, do you just live as a means to survive? Don't you ever take advantage of being a dragon?" Hiccup asked.

"We're Viking's at heart!" Moldy declared.

"Listen, thank you all, but I for one am going to make use of my time as a Night Fury, to learn more about dragons. I don't want to waste away in hiding." Hiccup replied.

"Hiccup, you be'eth a curse-ed soul, no tribe will accept you, and a true dragon would see through your guise!"

"Toothless is a true dragon and a friend now!" Hiccup exclaimed, and he flared out his wings.

"Permit me to ask, but what dragons are you anyway?" Slagathor asked.

"I've been cursed to be a Skrill." Astrid replied.

"Toothless and I are Night Furies." Hiccup stated. The Clan of the Cursed Axe backed away, as Moldy spoke: "H-How c-can that be? Loki has never cursed _anyone_ to be such dragons! There have been the main ones that attack Berk: Gronkles, Deadly Nadders, and Nightmares; Bones is the only one of two to become the Whispering Death, there have been a few Thunderdrums, and the odd Scauldron, but, again, anything like a Night Fury or a Skrill! How is that so?"

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged looks, when Astrid asked: "Do you want to hear our story of how we got cursed?"

"Of course!" Bladeshine replied, speaking for the others.

"Alright, during a raid, Hiccup brought out this device that could launch bolas, being a hiccup, I'm sure that you can imagine that he wasn't very muscular as a Viking, he was also a bit of a troublemaker that also just wanted to be noticed in a good way for once. So he searched the skies, and shot down Toothless over there!" Astrid began.

"Wait, if he shot this dragon down, then why is he still alive?" Slagathor asked.

"Simple, I survived the fall." Toothless replied, and he went about washing his face.

"After the sun rose, I saw Hiccup entering the forest to look for the dragon he shot down, since no one believed that he shot down a _Night Fury_! Still, I followed in after him. We found Toothless, but Hiccup, seeing the dragon tied up and defenseless, chose not to kill him. Rather, he chose to let him go." Astrid continued.

"It was the first time I've ever seen a human show a sense of compassion. I roared at him to say 'I won't kill you, but how dare you threaten me'!" Toothless interjected.

"Okay, Toothless, please don't interrupt me again." Astrid stated, but she was polite about it. She looked back to the Clan of the Cursed axe and told them: "We continued on our way to try to get back to the village, but ended up getting lost."

"That sounds like most of our stories, apart from those who went out in search for Loki's treasure, but never knew what it would actually turn out to be… Pardon me, Astrid, please continue." Bladeshine stated.

"We got lost, and happened upon the most beautiful axe I've ever seen. I truly meant to put it back after I'd taken a good look at it, because Hiccup was worried that the story of Loki's cursed treasure was real, seeing as that it had been some time since the axe was found, it just turned into a bedtime story; I took the axe out of the stone pillar and swung it around, but I got carried away and stepped outside the ring of flowers, that was when Loki appeared."

"As it so goes." Bones muttered.

"I guess you may know his speech: _You my dear maiden, you've stolen the axe, and now the curse belongs to you._ I pleaded with him and stuck the axe back in the pillar to prove that I never intended to keep it, but he said that it was too late. He told me that come three days, at the stroke of midnight, I would be a dragon. He was about to take his leave when Hiccup caught his arm and begged him to place the curse on _him_ as well. Loki knew of Hiccup showing the Night Fury mercy, and told him that Hiccup would be the last Viking that he would put the curse on, but Hiccup explained to Loki that for me to be alone in the world without a friend would feel as if Loki had placed the curse on him too; so if Loki was indebted to Hiccup for sparing Toothless, then to have the curse put on him as well would be Loki's way of repaying that debt. So, Loki put the curse on him as well, saying that he would become a handsome Night Fury. With that, Loki left." Astrid finished.

"So, you're a dragon of will… You _willingly_ became the enemy?" Bladeshine asked with a snarl towards Hiccup.

"Yes, and it seems to have worked in my favor as far as the curse is concerned. Listen well, my father found us in the forest the next day, and he knows what happened to us, and for my sake he is working to break the curse for us! Help me, and you too will be free! During this time, your names will be remembered again. I'm not going to stay here, I'm going to learn all I can about dragons, in order to help my father to find a way for the people to learn to appreciate them, and finally put an end to the war between Vikings and dragons!" Hiccup told them.

Bones looked about his company, and then told him: "If thou truly believes that our curse can break, then thou hast mine support. Being the heir of mine chief, then thou is mine captain of the Clan of the Cursed Axe… Slagathor, Bladeshine, Moldy, acknowledge your new captain!"

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Stoick woke in the middle of the night to hear the whistling of an approaching Night Fury, and stepped outside. The dragon landed smoothly before him with a Skrill by his side.

"Hiccup." Stoic spoke. Then Hiccup started scratching in the dirt: _We know where the dragon lair is, but you mustn't go there just yet. The dragons that attack us are under the rule of a Red Death, from what Toothless, the other Night Fury, explained; this dragon is a living volcano! She's as large as a mountain, breathes the greatest torrents of fire, and even eats other dragons!_

"Odin help us… How are we to get rid of it?"

 _How do you slay a mountain?_ Hiccup asked.

"I'd try collapsing it from within… but I'm not about to jump into the belly of a beast." Stoick replied.

 _You might actually be onto something, but this is something that needs some serious thought. In the meantime, we've found other's who've found Loki's cursed treasure, including the first one to ever find it!_

"What? How is that possible? How are they still alive?"

 _The curse kept them alive… but they are few. Apart from those that were killed, there were those that became a dragon of the mind._

"You're still mostly a Viking on the inside, right?" Stoick asked.

 _Yes, Astrid too. Now we better go, I'm the captain of the Clan of the Cursed Axe now, and they're here. Before I leave, is there anything that you want me to find out before I return again?_

"Find out some weaknesses that dragons have that'll sedate a dragon without hurting it. Also, what would it take for a wild dragon to show trust a human?"

 _I'll get back to you on that, but I know that you can start with not trying to kill them on sight._ Hiccup replied. He waved 'goodbye' and the dragons took flight once again.

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	7. Chapter 7: Findings

**Chapter 7: Findings**

 **Okay, before we go on with this chapter, I'll have a couple of questions for you at my sign off at the bottom. Please, take the time to answer them for the best possible story, and I promise you that this story will only get more awesome!**

Toothless showed Hiccup and the others to another island, a rather quiet one with a sparse population of dragons, and no Vikings. Hiccup had told the Night Fury what his father wanted to know, and so decided to pick out an island where the Clan of the Cursed Axe could learn a few things.

They landed and Toothless was shocked to see that Bones and his friends were almost out of breath! They weren't even flying for very long, and these were all dragons that either had two legs or none at all! They were supposed to be dragons that were meant to stay in the air for a fair length of time, particularly Bladeshine the Timberjack with no legs and large wings!

"What is the meaning of this? I've seen _hatchlings_ that could handle flying greater distances than you!" Toothless exclaimed.

"We're… Vikings… not Dragons!" Slagathor panted.

"Your face suggests otherwise." Toothless retorted.

"Toothless has a point everyone! Like it or not we are dragons, we may be Vikings on the inside, but as dragons, you need to start acting like one! That means we fly, hunt, and fight like dragons! Understand? If _all_ the people of Berk must learn to appreciate or love dragons, then we should start with ourselves!" Hiccup declared. He turned to Toothless and asked: "So, why have you brought us to this spot?"

"Your alpha has requested that we find ways to subdue dragons without hurting them, this is the first thing that can do just the trick: Before you is a field of dragon nip, it has a pleasant, calming aroma, dragons that partake in grazing find that this grass has a sweet flavor that can even remove bad breath, and when you roll in it, it can give your scales a pleasant scratching while also making for a soft bed!" Toothless explained.

Hiccup held his breath and approached the field where he managed to pick some dragon nip without falling under its spell and called Moldy over to tuck it in a satchel he brought from the previous island.

"There's also another way to subdue a dragon." Toothless stated. He approached Slagathor and gave him a scratch underneath his chin until he just collapsed when Toothless hit a 'secret spot'!

"What was that!?" Astrid exclaimed.

"All dragons have this sweet spot that knocks them out somewhere under their chin. A good chin scratch is wonderful, but if you hit the right spot, our muscles seize up and we just collapse, it's a good way for parenting dragons to help wrangle in their hatchlings when it's time to return to the nest." Toothless replied.

"Okay, what can we do to earn a wild dragon's trust?" Hiccup asked.

"Approach without weapons and offer food, dragons would always take food that they don't have to hunt for, and a gentle touch on the snout will establish a connection between one another."

"Thank you, Toothless." Hiccup replied.

"Now as for the rest of you, with the exception of Astrid, it's time for some dragon training! Spread those wings and fly into the air! I want you to do ten laps around this island, and I want to find out who the fastest is!" Toothless ordered, he woke up Moldy by giving him a shove in the head.

Bones looked over to Hiccup and asked: "Must we?"

"Yes, Astrid and I are Strike class dragons, and we need you to be able to keep up with us." Hiccup replied. With a roar from Toothless, the dragons took flight.

Astrid looked to Hiccup and asked him: "So, what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to do some fishing, you should do some hunting. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like fun." Astrid replied.

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Bones, Bladeshine, Moldy, Slagathor, and Toothless landed a while later and found Hiccup and Astrid sitting by a large pile of fish and a couple of goat carcasses.

"Hungry?" Hiccup asked offering up to share his fish.

It turned out that Moldy allowed the others to heat up fish on his body by letting them stack their fill wither on or around him while he set his body aflame and heated them up, and after a while, Moldy would put out the flames and then they would eat.

"It's better to eat the fish raw, they stay slippery so it is easier to swallow them whole!" Toothless told them.

"Toothless, let this go. We're not in any hurry to go anywhere, and at least Moldy knows how to set himself on fire." Hiccup replied. He looked to the other dragons and told them: "Show me your firepower."

"Pray, what for?" Bones asked.

"If we're to ever get into a fight, I need to know that you can defend yourselves, now show me your firepower." Hiccup told them.

Bones breathed a stream of fire with rings of flame and for an extra demonstration he launched a few spikes off of his body. Slagathor did the same: breathe a stream of fire and then launched some spines. Bladeshine breathed her ashy fire and then flew over a grove of trees and severed the tops. Moldy simply showed that he could breathe fire.

"Okay, looks like I'll be able to make dragons out of you yet." Hiccup stated.

"Hiccup, do you mean to take away our humanity?" Slagathor asked.

"Listen, I want you to become better at being dragons, in hopes that you can learn to appreciate your forms, and so that way we can learn more about the dragons you represent. Still I will not try to stomp the humanity out of you. Tell me, what kind of Vikings were you before you were cursed?" Hiccup spoke and then he took a fish and swallowed it.

"Once upon a time, I strove to become the greatest swordsman of mine tribe. With mine cousin, mine chief's heir, we would train. When I was about to retire for the night I would assist mine mother in preparing the dinner and take my plate to mine chamber, and dined in bed. When I didn't practice the sword I helped my father to brew the mead! All was pretty good in life until after a hunt and getting lost in the forest that I found the cursed axe." Bones told them.

"My family was never the warrior type, we contributed to the tribe by bringing fish for the whole village, and I was the first Viking to come up with a collection of recipes for eels! I happened upon the axe when I was deep in the forest in search of herbs and firewood." Moldy spoke.

"A word to the wise, don't eat the eels in dragon form, they'll make you sick." Toothless stated.

"I was the daughter of a blacksmith… how fitting for me to become a living axe. While my father tended to the shop, I dealt with the sales and orders. When I found the cursed axe, I thought that it was so beautiful that I had to show my father in hopes that he could make a design to replicate it! Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to ever go back to the village after I was cursed." Bladeshine told them.

"My family was a proud group of warriors, where we trained to become proficient in handling all types of weapons! During my downtime I would get together with a few friends and we would play in a music band together. I played the winds. I happened upon the axe during a hike and thought that I would make my family jealous if I brought it back." Slagathor spoke.

"Interesting, Astrid trained to be a warrior and I was our blacksmith's apprentice. After finding out how certain parts worked, I became a bit of an inventor. Sometimes I would work my hands raw working with orders and my inventions." Hiccup told them.

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As they settled down for the evening, Hiccup took Moldy's bag and brought it to Berk to show his father.

When he reached Berk, he saw Stoick emerge from their house and he landed, passing the bag over to Stoick, and he wrote in the dirt the details of dragon nip, and the chin scratching that Toothless demonstrated, and that dragons would gladly accept food that they didn't have to hunt for, and to approach without weapons, touching their snouts, gently, would establish a connection.

"So this is a sedative for dragons?" Stoick questioned, holding a few pieces of the plant.

 _Yes, and I can get small whiffs of it from here. It smells sweet and flowery to be._

Out of curiosity, Stoick held the dragon nip close to Hiccup's head as he was writing. Hiccup raised his head to meet the fragrant herb and it almost put him in a trance, and then Hiccup felt a scratching on his chin until it reached a certain spot, his muscles seized up and he dropped to the ground in a happy little nap. He woke up about ten minutes later to a bucket of water being dumped on him! Hiccup got up with a start and shook himself dry.

 _I should get going_.

"Wait, I wanted to tell you something: Gobber and I have been looking through the designs for your inventions. We're a bit confused as to how to go about making copies of your bola launcher, and this multi-bolt ballista."

Hiccup answered all the questions Stoick had about the designs and exchanged goodbyes before Hiccup took flight again.

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When Hiccup returned to the island he left, he saw that everyone had fallen asleep, and a human figure standing a little ways away. Hiccup landed and found that it was Loki!

"What are you doing here, if you don't mind my asking?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm here because you fascinate me, Hiccup Haddock, and have decided to talk to you, just to see how things are going. Please come with me."

Loki led Hiccup over to a table in a field surrounded by a ring of the same wildflowers that went around the pillar of the cursed axe.

"I wanted to talk to you man-to-man." Loki stated. Hiccup stepped over the ring of flowers and his body shrank and contorted into his human body! Hiccup stared at his human hands and the dragon hide outfit he now wore.

"Please sit, Hiccup." Loki spoke, gesturing to the table. Hiccup took a seat and Loki took another seat and conjured up a bottle of wine and a pair of goblets. Loki poured the drink and served a goblet to Hiccup: "This is a warriors wine, but though you're not exactly a soldier, I believe that you'll rise to be someone who's worthy of this drink."

Hiccup tasted the wine and it had a strong flavor that he enjoyed.

"You know, it's about time those of the Clan of the Cursed Axe finally got off their tails and spread their wings, and you were right, _every_ citizen of Berk must learn to appreciate dragons in order to break the curse, and that also counts for those who've been cursed."

"You've failed to mention that the curse would increase our longevity." Hiccup stated.

"That's true, but death would only put an end to their suffering… Break the curse, and they'll live out their full human lives, but they'll have to adjust to the new people. So… how have you been doing as a Night Fury?"

"Well I-I actually kind of like it… Flying is amazing, and fish taste much better now. I do miss working with my hands, even tough it's only been a few days."

"I expected an answer like that… Now, how about your lady, Astrid? How has she been doing as a Skrill?"

"For the most part she seems to be adjusting well. You'd have to ask her yourself if you want the true answer." Hiccup replied.

"It seems that is so… By the way, has the other Night Fury told you of any upcoming events?" Loki asked.

"No, we've been focusing on getting the others into shape, they're apparently very weak fliers. Why, is there something that I should be worried about?"

"Personally I wouldn't find it too worrisome… but the mating season is nigh. I'm not certain if you'd be affected by it though. The four you travel with now have either been unaffected or have managed to suppress mating lust all this time. I'm not too certain of the whereabouts of those that've succumbed to turning into a dragon of the mind." Loki spoke.

Hiccup took another taste of the wine, and tried to keep a calm face as he told Loki: "So, forgive me, please, but I think that it would be for the best of this curse if the dragons had no reason to raid my village. Toothless showed us the lair of the Red Death, and said that she was the cannibalistic queen of the dragons that cause us the most trouble. If we remove the queen, we remove the problem."

"So, you would plan to sacrifice the life of the Red Death in order to help establish peace between your tribe and the dragons… The Red Death you speak of is ancient and powerful, only one other breed of dragon gets as large as she does, the Bewilderbeast… Unfortunately Bewilderbeasts are rare, and they are few."

"What can you tell me about the Red Death and the Bewilderbeast?" Hiccup asked, eager for the knowledge.

"The Red Death you speak of is a living, flying, volcano. With a single breath, she can wipe out a whole Viking fleet, and without her nest, she would be out hunting dragons, but she's also a protector of her nest. So long as the other dragons bring her food, she will keep them under her protection, but should they fail her, she would eat the one's whose sacrifices displease her. The Bewilderbeast cannot fly; they live in the seas and are gentle. They make their homes with ice; they feed and shelter the dragons under their command… If it means saving all those other dragons, you have my permission to slay the Red Death... It should make you the pride of Berk anyway. To slay a massive dragon but to also establish peace… Yes, even I would find that impressive."

"You think that _I_ can slay this thing on my own?" Hiccup questioned.

"You're a smart lad, and you'll make for a clever Night Fury. Yes, I'm certain that you will. Now, if you'd like to see an impressive nest of a Bewilderbeast, you'll simply fly to the northeast; or, I could recommend that you could explore new islands."

"I'll mull those over, thank you."

"Of course… Now I should take my leave soon, once you step outside the ring of flowers, you'll become a dragon again. We'll meet again, Hiccup." Loki replied, as a gift, he passed over a piece of vellum depicting a map when unrolled. Loki had marked islands that might be of interest. When Hiccup looked up from the map, he found that Loki had vanished, he rolled up the map and threw it beyond the perimeter of flowers, he still had the goblet of wine, so he finished that off and then stepped outside the perimeter of flowers, where the body of a dragon claimed him once again.

When he was back down on all fours, with wings draped like a cloak, a tail dragging on the ground, and his skin covered in scales, Hiccup took the map in his gummy maw and wandered over to Astrid, he snuggled up next to her and took a moment to just watch her sleep. The light of the moon and stars was enough for him to see her scales sparkle like the stars' reflection in the sea as her body rose and fell as she breathed. Hiccup lowered his head and fell asleep at her side.

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 **Alright viewers, you decide, what are the dragons going to do next, where should they go, and what should Stoick get up to while they're gone? Do you have any predictions? Answer me, and I promise that I'll give you a humorous surprise!**

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	8. Chapter 8: Plan

**Chapter 8: Plan**

Astrid woke up to find Hiccup sleeping next to her. She lifted up her head and saw a map held down beneath his claws. She nudged him awake and asked: "Hiccup, where did you get that map?"

"Oh, this? When I came back last night, Loki was here and wanted to speak to me. He gave me this map, and we have a few options open to us: We can figure out a way to slay the Red Death that's making both dragons and Vikings miserable, we can explore the islands and learn about the dragons living on them, or we can go to the northeast and see a massive dragon that Loki called a Bewilderbeast!"

"I think that our main focus should be on slaying the Red Death. Without her to command the dragons to attack Berk, forgiving the dragons should be an easier feat. Once the dragons are no longer threatening Berk, we can while away the curse with these explorations." Astrid told Hiccup.

"Aaauugghh, I agree with Astrid." Moldy stated with a yawn while waking up.

"Forgive mine wandering ears, but hast thou stated that thou hath spoken to Loki last night?" Bones asked. Hiccup nodded. Bones slithered over to him and asked: "Dost thou think he better by taking thine enemy's form at will? That he may be the one to speak to the gods?"

"Listen Bones, I'm not trying to rank myself higher than any of you. I may be the son of the chief, and I may be a Night Fury, but as a human, I was small and scrawny, a fishbone of a Viking! I can't even tell what type of build that another Night Fury would describe me to be. However, as the Viking that willingly offered to become a dragon, perhaps I did win some favor from Loki. Perhaps I make him interested enough in us that he wishes to watch over us. While we're trying to break this curse, perhaps we should _all_ be working to win his favor." Hiccup replied.

"Forgive me, but just what are we going to do with ourselves. If you're intent is to finally break this curse, then I'd very much like to get to work on that." Slagathor stated.

"I agree with Slagathor. Bones and I miss having legs and hands… although having these massive swords for wings has been interesting." Bladeshine put in. At this point Toothless woke up and turned his attention to the group.

"As I've told Astrid, I believe that our main focus should be on the Red Death. With that dragon out of the way, there will be no longer for the dragons on her island to raid Berk." Hiccup began, he turned to the other Night Fury and spoke: "Toothless, you've seen the Red Death, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what this dragon looks like? Lots of details please." Hiccup asked. Toothless elaborated that the Red Death was a massive dragon with long claws, meant more for digging, and massive limbs, including wings. Despite being a living volcano, her wings could help her achieve flight. Her head was massive and could crash through solid rock, the nostrils on her snout were large, and she had six eyes, and so on, until Hiccup had scrawled an image on the ground with his claws. Based on what Hiccup had learned about dragons, from Fishlegs having told him what he read about dragons and the stories Vikings have told him about slaying other dragons, Hiccup could tell that the Red Death was more reliant on sounds and smells, slaying it would be best during the night during a sky battle, where a Night Fury would have the sight advantage.

"Do you know what her skin is like?" Hiccup asked Toothless.

"It's very tough, like a Gronkle's, only tougher. Whispering Death and Deadly Nadder spines thrown at full force would just bounce off of her."

Hiccup looked over to Bones and asked him to launch spines into a tree and into the side of a cliff. Bones complied and Hiccup examined them with Astrid at his side and he spoke: "Berk's spears and arrows won't pierce her… a bolt from a ballista might, but given the size of the Red Death, it would take multiple shots before we do any critical damage."

"I agree, we just don't have the power to cut the skin." Astrid stated.

"Those spines could be used to blind her, but this dragon doesn't rely on sight all that much, it favors scent and sounds… Toothless, do you think that the Red Death would be resistant to lightning?"

"Fire, plasma, lava, lightning, she can take those hits… and that's pretty much all we've got… Although the hide in her wings is about as tough as ours, susceptible to tears." Toothless replied.

"So it looks like the best way to fight this dragon is to get her into the air while we have the cover of darkness or clouds, and damage her wings so she falls… But how high in the air would she have to be in order for a fall to be fatal?" Hiccup thought aloud.

"Given that she can easily fly while bashing through sea stacks, my guess is that a plummet to her death would take us to heights where the air would be too thin for us to breathe."

"ARGH! It's like we'd have to slay her while we're inside of her! Getting in shouldn't be a challenge at all, but then there'd be the challenge of getting out!" Hiccup announced. He dropped to the ground, thinking hard on ideas.

With Hiccup quiet, Toothless took the time to fish for breakfast, and through multiple trips, he brought back enough food for everyone, but his activities had attracted some unwanted guests. A pack of Terrible Terrors flew in, hungry for some fish, and they each managed to steal at least one. One was bold enough to try and steal from Toothless! However, the Night Fury easily stole back what was rightfully his, and the ticked off Terror prepared to shoot a jet of fire at the Night Fury, but Toothless saw the shot coming and shot into the Terror's maw, setting the gas alight being built up, the Terror blew up like a balloon and was stunned for a few seconds before it staggered away.

Hiccup watched the scene with interest, and then he realized that dragons weren't that fireproof on the inside! He then let the other dragons know of the discovery, and told them: "Tonight we're all going to pay a little visit to Berk, and we're going to prepare for a fight."

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That day, after taking care of his routine duties, Stoick brought the teens of Berk to the Dragon Arena. There they trained long and hard about how to defeat dragons, but now they let out the dragons to study them. Upon release a dragon would enter a false environment: a ground of soil, a few samples of vegetation, large rocks, and a still pond with live fish. They released the Gronkle and observed as the beast hovered about for a while, sifted through the soil and munched on some rocks, completely ignoring the pond except to get a drink.

"Hmm, rather docile, eats rocks instead of prey and vegetation… Really these dragons are only meant to use fighting tactics for defense. Chief, I want to go in there!" Fishlegs declared.

"Are you sure about that?" Stoick asked. Fishlegs nodded and entered the arena. The Gronkle turned to him upon entry and Fishlegs picked up a fair-sized chunk of sandstone, held it up towards the Gronkle, and looked away. He heard the Gronkle approach and stayed his ground, and then the dragon took the stone in its jaws and ate it!

"Whoa! It didn't eat him with it!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"That was actually pretty impressive, Fishlegs." Ruffnut stated.

Stoick then ordered Fishlegs to get out of there and shut the Gronkle back in her pen. So, if the dragons could be tamed, then they should be able to domesticate them, and if they could be domesticated, then they should be of some use. The question was: How do you train a dragon?

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That night, as Stoick sat in front of a fire with a tankard of mead in his hand, he heard the whistling approach of a Night Fury, and from the sounds of things he wasn't alone. Stoick mentally braced himself for what he was about to see and stepped outside.

Several dragons landed: two Night Furies, a Skrill, Timberjack, Whispering Death, Monstrous Nightmare, and a Deadly Nadder. Hiccup wrote the names of the four newer dragons in the dirt, also added that Bones was the first one to be cursed, ever!

"Bones Hardhock… Yes, I remember the name… If only you could speak, the stories you could tell." Stoick stated, he bowed his head towards the Whispering Death and added: "I've heard legends of your Uncle Brickmaw the Bonecrusher. I am Chief Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father."

Bones did what he could to bow in return, Slagathor, Moldy, and Bladeshine mimicked the gesture.

 _'_ _Dad, I came here tonight because I believe that I've figured out a way to defeat the Red Death, the dragon forcing the raids.'_ Hiccup wrote.

"Hold on just a moment…" Stoick spoke, he went into the house and then dragged out a chair. Upon sitting down, Stoick told him: "Go on Hiccup, you have my full attention."

Hiccup drew a picture of the Red Death and detailed what attributes this dragon had. Then he elaborated that he found out that dragons weren't so fireproof on the inside.

 _'_ _I figured that if we could ignite the gas in its mouth before this dragon ignited the fire, then it would combust and would basically cook it on the inside… Oi, that sounds like a terrible way to go… What I would want to do is draw the beast out of its nest and then get it in the air where we would have the advantage, we'll damage its wings and then I would hope that we could eventually get it into maneuver that would cause it to loose control. It's a long shot, but I don't know of any other way to defeat it."_

"Hiccup, you'll have my support." Stoick replied. He allowed the dragons to spend the night, even allowed them into his house, so long as they promised not to make a mess of the place. Bladeshine took up most of the lower floor but everyone managed to find a spot. Toothless claimed one next to Hiccup.

"Hey, Hiccup, what is it like to be human?" Toothless asked.

"Hmm?"

"You humans intrigue me. I used to think them to be mindless brutes, but no, you humans are intelligent."

"Well, it's a decent life. What I loved most about being human was being able to create. I could use my hands to write, draw, help build our shelters, and so on. Though we can make our lives difficult for ourselves, there are those who would challenge us just to show their power, there are those who's ideas conflict with our own and would go astray to pursue them. So there are the times where we choose to use the hands we're given to create, and turn them into our weapons by extending our arms with swords and axes, and soon enough we find ourselves trying to bring death and pain to those who oppose us… However, when the dust settles, we quiet down. With the battle over, we celebrate our victory or mourn our losses. When there's peace again, we go back to using our hands to create, be it food for our families and neighbors, new homes for new friends, or a new weapon to help others protect themselves." Hiccup replied.

"Wow… perhaps humans and dragons aren't so different after all." Toothless stated.

"So then, how would you feel about being human for a while?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, I would certainly miss my wings and tail, but I am curious to see and understand for myself." Toothless replied.

"Well my dear Night Fury, that can be arranged for you."

The dragons awoke with a start and turned to find Loki sitting at the dining table.

"YOU!" Bones snarled.

"Well now, pleasure to see that you're still alive, Bones Hardhock. My first curse on Berk ever! I knew you would do well as a Whispering Death." Loki replied.

"Why are you here?" Bladeshine asked, trying to sound polite. Given the surprise visit, she did fairly well.

"I just couldn't help but to overhear the conversation between the Night Furies… What a curious topic it was, I never thought that a dragon as proud as a Night Fury would be curious to experience being human… Now listen here, Toothless, what Hiccup said about human hands rings oh so very true. Hiccup here was a great creator of devices that could protect his people and to shelter them. However, Vikings like Astrid and Bones, they had short tempers, they often resorted to excessive violence to prove their points… What type of human would you be?" Loki replied.

"I would hope to be one like Hiccup, maybe I won't have the power to create like he does, but I'd hope to be one with some wits about him." Toothless replied.

"Very well, Toothless, and perhaps spending time as a human would be of some benefit to this village. The moment you fall sound asleep, you will become human and you can expect to stay in that form for a few days… Please take care of him, Hiccup." Loki stated, he snapped his fingers and there was a spark of magic, and Toothless caught a slight dizzy spell as the enchantment was placed on him.

"Now, this plot you have for the Red Death is an interesting one, I'll give you that much." Loki spoke.

"You're not upset with this?" Slagathor questioned.

"Red Deaths are among my more powerful children, but mating season is soon, and I can expect that the children to come will fill the hole left by the grief that I can expect to feel." Loki replied. That being said, he took his leave.

"Well Toothless, just think, by tomorrow, you may feel how we fee about being dragons." Astrid spoke. The Night Fury gave her a quick nod and curled up on the floor.

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	9. Chapter 9: Closer

**Chapter 9: Closer**

Stoick awoke to find a young man sleeping on the floor amongst the dragons, but it was plain to see that this wasn't Hiccup. This figure had a paler complexion, had a wild head of black hair, his face was angular with a strong jaw, his frame was long and lean, and he was completely clothed in black. Stoick looked about the room and saw that the only dragon missing was a Night Fury.

The young man woke up and found Stoick looking down at him, the Chief saw his vivid green eyes, there was no doubt that this was the other Night Fury! Toothless looked down at himself and flinched at the sight of his hands.

Stoick helped him to his feet, he had walked on two legs on occasion, but it felt strange to stand to tall.

"Uh, can you speak?" Stoick asked. Toothless made a few odd noises, trying to figure out how to command such a complex larynx, but he managed to find a few words: "I… speak… you… tongue."

"Ah, you mean ' _I speak your language'_ , you may get the hang of it." Stoick stated.

Hiccup's head rose and was taken aback at the sight of the human Toothless. He figured that Toothless would be taller and leaner than him, but he didn't take in that he'd take on a handsome face.

Stoick offered up a few fish for all of the dragons and served Toothless some fresh bread and boar bacon. Toothless looked at it with a confused expression and asked: "Vat's dis?"

"We Vikings call it 'breakfast', we can't live on fish or meat alone and we prefer to eat certain foods at a certain time of day. Go on, try it." Stoick replied. Toothless practiced swallowing as a human first and figured that he just couldn't swallow whole bites. He took a bite of bread and didn't quite know what to think of it, he never ate anything quite so fluffy with a crunchy shell. As for the boar bacon, he did like that, even if it was a bit greasy.

"So… Toothless, how do Night Furies compare to other dragons?" Stoick asked.

"We be smarter, usually; very strong, but not the strongest, we are the fastest dragon of all!"

"Hmm, and what can you tell me about your experiences with other dragons?" Stoick asked. Toothless told him everything he knew about other breeds of dragons, and then Stoick offered to show him around the village with the other dragons in tow. The villagers shied away from their chief as he passed by, some of them even held up their weapons, ready to strike the dragons if any of them so much as looked at them funny.

"Their weapons, they threaten me by holding them up." Toothless whispered to Stoick.

"They're more afraid of the dragons than they are you right now." Stoick told him.

"Shouldn't they know that the Clan of the Cursed Axe were once humans? Tell them, and please tell them that if they want to break the curse the weapons spook dragons." He replied. He was scared of the Vikings this way. Not only could he not fly away, but he also didn't have much in the way to defend himself.

"Listen up everyone, these dragons were those who found Loki's cursed treasure, you remember from that old Berkian story. Well, you've learned that it is true, and since we are to break their curse, then let's show them a bit of respect. Away with the weapons." Stoick ordered. The villagers obeyed, and Stoick continued the tour of the village. Bones, Slagathor, Moldy, and Bladeshine looked about and reminisced about their human days and remarked about what had changed over the years.

Toothless, still able to understand the Dragon Tongue, turned and snapped: "Will you be silent while the Chief speaks!?"

"You can still understand us?" Bladeshine asked.

"Of course, you speak my birth language!" Toothless replied. He looked over to Stoick and confirmed that he could still understand the dragons, and that he was willing to translate for them.

Toothless didn't care for what he saw at Gobber's forge, and looked upon the blacksmith with a cold stare that made Gobber step back from him. Even as a human, Toothless held a certain draconic aura about him, and Gobber could feel it in his bones. However, when Stoick showed him the food storage, he was legitimately fascinated with it! Dragons never had the concept of preserving food for later, and it just seemed amazing to him.

The last stop of the tour was the dragon training arena.

"We used to train to kill dragons here, but I've since put a stop to it. Although we still have an assortment of dragons in our hold." Stoick told Toothless.

"What dragons? I want to see them." Toothless told him. Stoick opened one pen and out came the Gronkle, but Toothless demanded that Stoick ought to release _all_ dragons. Stoick refused, for fear of the dragons acting out against each other or the numbers would provoke them to attack them through the chain barrier. Not withstanding his protests, Toothless turned and opened up another pen, and out came the Deadly Nadder. Toothless kept pulling the levers, releasing a Terrible Terror, Hideous Zippleback, and Monstrous Nightmare!

Toothless looked down and saw the collection.

"They're strong, young, healthy dragons… Well, at least they've been kept in good health during captivity. They're pretty common types though. Clan of the Cursed Axe is slightly more exotic, rarest dragons being Hiccup and Astrid." Toothless replied.

"Now that you've released them all, what's the plan to get them back in their pens?" Stoick asked.

"No pens. Dragons are meant to be free. No threat to dragons, and dragons won't threaten you. Let me in, I'll show you; or should I just show myself in?"

Stoick opened the gate into the arena, and closed it once Toothless was inside, and Toothless approached the Deadly Nadder after grabbing a fish. She approached him, and then Toothless passed her the fish, and touched her gently.

"There you go, you're a pretty girl. It's nice to stretch and get out of that dank trap now, isn't it?" Toothless spoke. He calmly approached each and every dragon, gave them a fish, and was able to befriend them.

As Toothless was mingling with the dragons in the arena, the teens: Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, approached the arena and watched what was going on. They were amazed to see Toothless in the ring, mingling with the dragons. He looked up to Stoick and announced: "See? No threat to the dragons, and dragons don't threaten me!"

The Monstrous Nightmare let out a low growl and nudged Toothless gently. Toothless looked back to Stoick and told him: "Now we're friends!"

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After the excitement at the arena, the dragons were left out of their cages for the day, but they were not allowed to be out of the arena. If they could befriend humans, then perhaps they would be of some help as a line of defense for Berk, or so Stoick figured.

As the day drew to a close, Hiccup approached Astrid and asked her: "How about we go for a moonlit flight?"

"I think that I would like that." She replied.

They took off and soared above the clouds and among the stars. The air was calm, the moon was bright, and the overall atmosphere was rather romantic. Astrid didn't want to admit it, but there was something about flying alongside Hiccup that just felt so right! She no longer cared that she was a dragon; in fact she was enjoying her wings, their power was almost magical. Then, looking to Hiccup, she really couldn't imagine anyone else being at her side.

∫ µ ∫

With Hiccup and Astrid out flying, Stoick and Toothless shared a dinner.

"So, what do you think of humans now?" Stoick asked.

"You are fascinating creatures, but I'm happy to be a dragon."

"I see, well it's not that you really knew any different, and you've certainly caused my village a panic before you befriended Hiccup. Why do you look out after him?"

"He was the first human to prove to me that you all weren't just mindless killing machines. Then I heard the story of how he came to be cursed, not because he took Loki's axe, but because Astrid took the axe and he cares for her… You know, he does make for a good dragon."

"Yeah… I-I suppose he does." Stoick replied.

They ate in silence for a while, and unbeknownst to them, Hiccup and Astrid had landed outside the house.

"What do you think of Hiccup being a dragon?" Toothless asked. Hiccup and Astrid could hear the following conversation through the walls.

"I don't like it. Sure, Hiccup had his problems, but he's the best connection I have left with his mother. Like him, Valka wasn't much of a fighter and was rather intelligent. I may have wanted a son that would've grown as big and strong as I am, but that was never really in the cards for Hiccup, and after seeing his creative mind, I had him apprentice with Gobber in hopes that at least some more Viking qualities would surface. When Valka was taken away by a dragon, Gobber had lent me a lot of help into helping me raise the boy. Now that he's a dragon, it's almost like everything just blew away in the wind. I was close to shouting at him in anger, but then I realized why he took the curse; I would've done the same thing if Valka was cursed. Still, Hiccup should be a Viking, that's how he was born and instead of flying and breathing fire, he should be learning how to be a leader for the tribe." Stoick replied.

Back outside Hiccup looked to Astrid with a sense of disbelief.

"I'm certain that I can learn to appreciate dragons and accept them into the village, if that's possible, but I don't know if I can ever accept that Hiccup's a dragon, no matter how good he may be at one." Stoick stated.

Hiccup turned away from the house and retreated into the forest, Astrid followed after him.

When Hiccup sat down, Astrid spoke: "Y'know, my parents wouldn't even look at me as a dragon."

"Yeah, and in the clan's case, their families never saw them as humans again… I know that I don't have things as bad, but it still hurts."

They turned away and kept walking, and Astrid spoke: "Hey, during that flight, it was the first time that I didn't care that I was a dragon. Hiccup, you really are making this curse a lot easier on me."

Then, something drew them closer together than they have ever been before, human emotions for each other aside there was something in the back of their minds and within the air they breathed that drew them physically closer and closer, until…

… They merged.

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 **A bit of a filler chapter, but I wanted to give you guys something you wanted: Hiccstrid fluff and to acknowledge that Stoick is actually upset over Hiccup's choice.**

 **How'd you like the chapter? Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Fight

**Chapter 10: Fight**

They were barely even aware of what was going on until after-the-fact, and then they stepped back in shock. As Hiccup and Astrid pulled away from each other, realization had hit them hard… They had mated.

"Did we just…?" Astrid cut short, and Hiccup nodded; although his scales didn't turn colors, he was blushing something fierce. Astrid paced out of agitation and then asked in a panic: "Hiccup, what if I lay eggs?"

Hiccup's eyes went wide, what would their parents think if they _did_ have _hatchlings_? Would they have to stay dragons until the hatchlings grew up even if the curse was broken? Would they be accepted on Berk if and when they became human again?

"SAY SOMETHING!" Astrid roared.

"A-Astrid, if that does happen, then we'll work our way through it. I'll be their parent as much as you would be." Hiccup told her. His words did calm her down, and he nuzzled her neck with his snout.

"Hiccup, I need to ask you something." Astrid spoke.

"Ask me anything."

"Do you still look at me the same way you did when I was human?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup was taken aback but he was quick to tell her: "Of course I do. You make for a beautiful and strong Skrill, just like you did as a Viking… Astrid, I'd do just about anything for you to make sure that you're happy."

"Hiccup… I… ARRGH! Are we to continue to fall victim to these dragon instincts? Oh gods above, I don't want to lose my humanity, and I'll get tired of being a dragon!" Astrid told him, growing upset.

"No, Astrid, please don't say things like that! You need to appreciate dragons in order to help break the curse! Please, what can I do to make you feel better?"

"I-I don't know." She replied, and she rested herself on the ground. Hiccup rested himself at her side, but he wasn't cuddled up to her.

In the late night hours, Loki made his return and as Hiccup woke up again and raised his head as the god spoke: "I've just gotten back from returning the Night Fury to his dragon form; and someone is going to have to learn how to ride the dragons in your arena, and so I've planted my sacred flowers along the walls of the arena. Whosoever enters the arena will regain their human form, but being the first Viking to ever refuse to kill a dragon, only you can show them how to train those dragons."

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So that morning, the teens were gathered and they found a human Hiccup in the arena, the Clan of the Cursed Axe saw this and they were mortified! How was it that _he_ could be human when he was one of them?

Then they watched as Hiccup led them through taming and bonding with the dragons. He showed them how to approach them calmly, and he assigned dragons to each of his friends. Snotlout to the Monstrous Nightmare, later named Hookfang; Fishlegs became quick friends with a Gronkle, now named Meatlug; and finally the twins named their Zippleback Barf and Belch. The Terrible Terror was set free, and the Deadly Nadder was tamed but would have no rider as of right now; although the Nadder served as a good dragon for Hiccup to demonstrate with, but for some reason, Toothless got jealous of Hiccup giving the Deadly Nadder his attention, and Toothless invited himself into the arena. So Hiccup demonstrated with both dragons on how to train the dragons. After being able to speak with actual dragons for a while, Hiccup learned from Toothless a few harmless weaknesses from the dragons that were harmless. From calming them with an herb called 'Dragon Nip', scratching a certain spot would knock them out in a sleep for a while, and that some dragons were playfully attracted to light.

He spent the day having the teens practice riding their dragons and did the best he could while being stuck in the arena.

At some point Fishlegs approached Hiccup and asked him why only he was human.

"There're flowers growing alongside the walls of this ring, so long as I stand within them, I can stay human, but as soon as I cross their barrier, I'll be a Night Fury again. If the other cursed ones came into this ring, they'd become human too." Hiccup explained and he cast a glance to the Clan of the Cursed Axe.

Hiccup continued to drill the new riders, when Stoick arrived to see what was going on. Of course he was surprised to see that only Hiccup was human again, but once again, Hiccup explained the magical flowers to him.

So, at the end of the day, after all the teens had left, Hiccup left the ring, returning to his Night Fury form, and the Clan of the Cursed Axe took to the air and practiced drills of their own devising, with Toothless only advising them if he saw room for improvement. Then he would team up with Hiccup to practice team drills.

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Just before the dawn the next day, the Vikings prepared to set sail for the nest of the Red Death. Most ships had one dragon, and those that didn't had a catapult. The ships were off and as they reached Helheim's gate, the path to the nest, something began calling out to the dragons, even dragons-turned-human followed the call and they had to be held back so they wouldn't take flight.

They made it to the shores of Dragon Island. The dragons had gotten agitated enough that they had to be restrained, but once Stoick set foot on the rocky shore everything fell quiet.

The catapults were set up, and they set their assault on the mountain, while the riders mounted their dragons. Then Stoick signaled his warriors and they fire the catapults, rocks bashed into the mountain until they broke through. Stoick approached the new opening, and a catapult launched a fireball into the opening. Stoick saw that the walls were completely covered with dragons! He shouted, raising his hammer, but all dragons took flight, fleeing!

What came soon was a bellowing roar and a gust of wind! The ground shook as the Red Death burst through the mountain!

"Odin, help us." Stoick gasped, he knew that the Red Death was massive, but nothing really prepared him for the sight before him!

The dragons took flight. The riders working to distract and aggravate the Red Death, while the Clan of the Cursed Axe was to do the damage. Astrid had enough lightning to use, Hiccup and Toothless hid in the dark clouds, Bladeshine was also in the sky, and the others flew in to assist the riders.

Bladeshine really took a shine here. While the riders were busy distracting the Red Death, Bladeshine was able to actually inflict some true damage. She managed to weaken its armor by cutting through softer spots of the Red Death's hide, but once the riders and the Clan of the Cursed Axe had angered the Red Death, the massive dragon spewed this massive stream of fire and practically reduced Berk's ships to a pile of wrecks and splinters!

Soon, Toothless and Hiccup swooped down and shot their plasma blasts, collapsing the massive Red Dead. The Riders and Clan scattered as the Red Death extended her wings, first she tried to swallow Hookfang and Snotlout and Slagathor through a massive inhale, but a passing shot from Hiccup broke the Red Death's breath, freeing them.

The Red Death stroked her wings and rose into the air, abandoning the Riders and Clan to follow the Night Furies and a Skrill. Hiccup and Toothless dodged attacks and fire as they led the Red Death into the clouds, where Astrid's sparks of lighting where the only signs of activity to be seen. The echoing sounds of dragons screeching through the air made it next to impossible for the Red Death to find a target.

Astrid struck with her lighting, it sparked painfully over the wounds Bladshine made in the Red Death's hide, but it didn't deal much in the way of damage, but it did sap some of the Red Death's stamina. In the meantime, Hiccup and Toothless shot holes in its wings, and one perfectly aimed strike from Astrid had blinded the beast! Enraged, the Red Death spewed out a massive stream of flames and soon pursued after the Night Furies as they maneuvered into a dive. With the Red Death on their tails, it would be a narrow escape, but they heard the Red Death inhale to prepare another flame jet. They turned to face the Red Death and shot their blasts into its great maw, setting it alight! The Night Furies maneuvered into a dive, the Red Death following after their scent.

With the ground quickly approaching, Toothless and Hiccup split off just a moment before the Red Death made its impact and exploded!

The shockwave hit Hiccup hard and he lost control, and so Astrid and Toothless dove after him. Astrid caught him first, her teeth digging into his left rear leg. She slowed his fall, but she wasn't strong enough to carry him for long, and they suffered a rough landing and had knocked them out.

Toothless landed at Hiccup and Astrid and called out to the Vikings. It was a rough sight, Hiccup's leg was pretty well mangled, and Astrid looked a bit beaten up herself given the way she was laying. They were rough, but they were alive!

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Hiccup woke up to find himself in his house, he checked himself over, and noted that the fight didn't break the curse. He wasn't too surprised, killing a big and bad dragon isn't exactly the best way to show appreciation for them.

The sound of dragons trilling perked up his ears; he looked up and found that Astrid and Toothless were in the house, as was Bones.

"Hey, you're awake!" Toothless exclaimed, he and Astrid approached him and gave him a nuzzling around his head.

"Okay, you can get off me." Hiccup told them, getting to his feet, but then a sharp pain shot through one of his legs, he looked over and saw that the leg Astrid bit had been amputated, if he were human, it would've been cut a little below the knee.

"Hiccup, I'm so sorry… I was just trying to save you." Astrid spoke.

"Well, thank you, Astrid, really. I know that you slowed the fall, and things could've been much worse for me."

"I must admit that thou hast slain the fiercest dragon the people of Berk had seen! Thou shalt be revered as a great hero, and just wait until you see outside!"

Hiccup limped his way to the door and opened it to reveal a most magnificent sight! Dragons lingering peacefully among the Vikings!

"Aye, we've convinced some dragons to come and share Berk with us! The people shall need time to adapt, but we've made a big step towards breaking this curse!" Bones replied.

"Yeah, in the meantime, what do you want to do next?" Hiccup asked.

"Hast thou got a taste for adventure overseas?" Bones suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, Bones." Hiccup replied.

"Toothless, why are you sniffing me!?" Astrid exclaimed.

"You smell a bit strange." Toothless replied.

"Then I'll take a bath!" She told him, and she took to the skies to find a spot of freshwater. Toothless sat back and thought to himself: _'I don't think that a bath's going to take care of that smell… Should I tell them, or will they be able to pick it up themselves?'_

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 **So what do you want to see next?**

 **Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11: Nest

**Chapter 11: Nest**

Hiccup had spent a week teaching the new dragon riders about dragons, turning human only when he stepped into the arena, heck, during that week, Stoick insisted on having an old table set up there just so he could have a moment out of his day to just see his son before he had to leave and become a Night Fury again.

However, after a week, the Clan of the Cursed Axe was getting restless on Berk. So Hiccup broke some news to Stoick: "Dad, we're planning on leaving the island tomorrow. Everyone's getting restless on Berk, and Bones and Bladeshine only have wings to stretch… Astrid's also been particularly moody lately."

"Where will you be going?" Stoick asked. Hiccup pulled out the map gift from Loki and pointed out the selected spots.

"We figured that we could spend time learning about other dragons that we've rarely seen before, or perhaps find new dragons! We may be able to find one that you could ride on to better protect the village."

"You want me to be a dragon rider?" Stoick questioned.

"Hey, if Snotlout can be a rider, then why shouldn't you?"

"Fair point, son. Alright, if you can find a good enough dragon, I'll take riding under consideration."

"You know, it should be another step towards breaking the curse." Hiccup stated.

"Well then, go on and leave tonight if you want to." Stoick replied. Hiccup thanked him for the dinner and left the arena. Stoick looked away from the exit, but heard Hiccup groan as he returned to his Night Fury form. Stoick only looked up when he heard the beating of wings as Hiccup and his friends left the island.

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They found an island with a cave that was nice and cozy, with enough space for everyone to have their own room, only Hiccup and Astrid shared a room. It was plenty large enough for them to be comfy and to move around.

When Toothless stepped in their chamber, Hiccup subconsciously put himself between the other Night Fury and Astrid. Toothless knew that it was Astrid's pheromones starting to drive Hiccup to become more protective of Astrid.

"Toothless, what's going on?" Hiccup asked.

"The others are up for going fishing. You should come along too, the both of you."

They went outside where the sea cut through the island, one spot in particular was pretty good at attracting fish. When they reached the spot, they ate their fill and set out further into the island, when they saw the ring of flowers. The Clan was a bit wary, for they would never forget those flowers.

"Care for a brief break from the curse?" Hiccup asked them. The others gave him an odd look and he added: "Cross into that ring and you'll be human for as long as you can stay in it."

Bones, being the first one cursed, crossed the ring first; and to his elation, after being cursed for centuries, he was human again. Just the feeling of having legs again had him crying tears of joy! Bones was tall and lean with hair the color of honey and bright blue eyes he appeared to be about sixteen. Moldy crossed next he was short, blond, grey-eyed, round, but packing some serious muscle for someone who looked to be thirteen. Bladeshine was also thrilled for having her legs back, she had dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes that were more like the ocean than the sky, she appeared to be around either fifteen or sixteen. Finally, Slagathor crossed and he had brown eyes and a wild mass of red hair, he was a lean fellow and on the taller side, and he seemed to be fourteen.

As the clan marveled at how they looked as humans, Hiccup and Astrid stepped in the ring too. Hiccup smiled, seeing Astrid again, but then he noticed that she seemed to be a bit bigger in the tummy area… not that he was going to say anything about it.

"It be'eth a long while since I were a human… Mine body feels both odd as it is familiar." Bones stated.

"Bladeshine, I never gave much thought how pretty your face is!" Slagathor exclaimed.

"Aye, I used to be the village beauty. When I found the axe, I think that the people started a legend about me and wrote a ballad: about how the fairest maiden was stolen away… As I've said before, I never returned to the village after I found it."

The clan told other stories about what Berk was like back in the day, Moldy told of a story of how he ran into a troll during a fishing trip.

"Hah, our Blacksmith, Gobber, might take a liking to you. He swears he's seen them, and that they steal left socks." Hiccup stated.

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When it came time for them to leave the ring, the Clan was hesitant, but it had to be done. It was to be trapped as a human, or free as a dragon.

For several days, they flew about a circle of islands, catching food, and taking note of where other dragons were gathering, they took note of breeds, provided if they could be determined from the air. Hiccup would sometimes land and meet up with the more relaxed dragons he saw and see if they would be a good fit for Stoick to ride on; but none so far have had the right feel for Stoick. Those that could stand to be on an island with humans didn't feel a connection with him; and there were those that Stoick didn't like. He refused anything with more than one head, he didn't care for the bird-like nature of the Deadly Nadder, he was too heavy for a Gronkle, and he couldn't get on a Monstrous Nightmare's good side,

Back at the islands there came the moment when Astrid suddenly landed on a mountaintop, of a quiet island, and drove off anyone who dared to try and approach her with roars and sparks of lightning, and about half an hour later she let out a roar that sounded panicked and pained, this provoked Hiccup to run for her, and he saw what was up…

…Astrid stepped aside, and there before Hiccup was a nest of six eggs.

Hiccup staggered over to Astrid, looking between her and the nest, and he almost passed out himself!

"A-Astrid, those… those are…" He couldn't bring himself to finish.

"Yes, Hiccup, they're ours."

Hiccup passed out.

He came to when Bones nudged him awake, and Hiccup got back in his feet.

"By the gods, what hast thou done?" Bones asked.

"Bones, isn't it obvious? Hiccup and Astrid are mates." Bladeshine replied.

"Hic-Hiccup, A-Astrid, what have you done?" Moldy asked.

"This was an accident, I swear!" Astrid replied… The dragons stared at the eggs and considered their options…

"Well we can't abandon them, we'd never have this curse broken if we did… Raise them, Hiccup, Astrid, and perhaps we'll win Loki's favor." Bladeshine told them.

"Yeah, but what about when we finally break the curse? Are we to have dragon babies with human parents?" Astrid questioned. She looked at the eggs in worry, she was in no way ready to be a mother; and she was clueless as to how to be a mother of dragons.

"Night Furies crossed with Skrills… That's a powerful dragon breed waiting to happen, but I wonder how they'll turn out." Toothless stated. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged looks and then…

"Oh gods, how're we going to break this to our parents?"

"You had to bring that up now?! Well then I say we break it to them with such a shock that they won't know how to react!" Astrid exclaimed.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Hiccup replied.

"Dost thou knoweth that thou shalt have to wed the fair maiden when the curse breaketh? It is of thine law, should you disgrace her otherwise." Bones spoke.

"Bones, I promise you that I would so anything to uphold Astrid's honor and her happiness."

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 **Apologies for that hiatus, I kind of lost my writing mojo for a while; but I hope that this chapter brought some excitement to you.**

 **Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12: Snoggletog

**Chapter 12: Snoggletog**

As the Clan and Toothless helped to watch over the eggs, Hiccup returned one day with an axe and a hammer in his mouth.

"What have you got those for?" Slagathor asked.

"Snoggletog's coming up, I wanted to get something for Dad and Gobber… it would probably break the ice nicely before we tell them about the eggs." Hiccup replied. Then he took his position to look over the nest of six eggs

As the night closed in, the dragons were startled were spooked when they saw Loki suddenly appear.

"Loki, what are you doing here?!" Bladeshine exclaimed.

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just here to see the eggs hatch." He replied.

It was then that they heard a sharp 'CRACK' as the eggs started hatching. Hiccup and Astrid exchanged looks as a strange dragon crawled out of the first broken shell. It looked predominantly like a Night Fury, but it was blue with black markings, looking more like a Skrill's color pattern. The membrane of their wings stretched continuously down their tails and fanned out into fins. Their wings did look more like a Skrill's on the account of a large claw on them, but these claws weren't as heavy as that of a typical Skrill. Rather than Night Fury plates on their spines, they had spikes, but they kept a Night Fury shape overall.

The remaining eggs hatched, an even mix of daughters and sons. The daughters were named: Stormstryke, Shadeswrath, and Onyx, the first two were blue while Onyx was black as night. The sons were: Zephyr, Wraith, and Omen, only Omen was black and he had red eyes. Zephyr was a dark grey-purple with black markings, Wraith was slate colored with black markings too.

"They're beautiful." Loki stated. He picked Omen up and examined him; he turned to Loki and gave him a fierce hiss. Loki smirked and stated: "Ha, this one's feisty."

Toothless sniffed them and looked them over: "They are a handsome hybrid, very powerful too."

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It didn't take very long for the hatchlings Hiccup landed and dropped an axe at Stoick's feet and wrote in the snow: _Happy Snoggletog._

Stoick looked the axe over and it was a descent weapon for something that a dragon could scavenge.

"Well, thank you, Hiccup, and I must say that I wasn't expecting to see you at all this holiday." Stoick replied. Hiccup shrugged and looked inside the house, he could smell the feast that Stoick and Gobber had prepared.

 _May I go inside?_ Hiccup asked.

"Go on, the food must smell good." Stoick replied. Hiccup stepped inside and saw Gobber dishing himself some chicken Snoggletog stew. The stew was topped with bread biscuits, almost made the dish a potpie.

"Whoah, hello Hiccup, uh… I see that you're no longer a toothpick for dragons." Gobber jested. He looked Hiccup up and down and spoke again: "So, that's what a Night Fury looks like, no wonder no one's ever seen one."

Hiccup let out a trilling sound, and then turned to the table, he took a couple of yak steaks and ate them.

"I wonder how Astrid's doing," Stoick stated. It was at that moment when six little dragons shot through the door and fluttered about the room. Hiccup let out a yelp of panic as the hatchlings swarmed around Stoick and Gobber, but he quickly regained enough composure to roar and the hatchlings gathered around him.

Stoick and Gobber looked to the hatchlings and saw that half of them looked to be more like Skrills and the other half were Night Furies. There were however a few differences, the Skrill hatchlings had finning on the sides of their tails, the membrane for them started at the wings and continued down the sides of their tails at a fairly consistent width, but the fins flared out more to a greater degree at the tip of their tails; the Night Fury hatchlings had protrusions on their spines that looked more like spikes rather than plates and they had claws on their wings that didn't show up on typical Night Fury wings.

It had suddenly dawned on Stoick that these hatchlings were dragon hybrids of a Skrill and a Night Fury… Hiccup is a Night Fury with affections for Astrid… and Astrid was a Skrill.

Stoick's eyes grew wide as he told Gobber that Astrid had been cursed to become a Skrill. Stoick slowly approached Hiccup as he was trying to get the hatchlings to settle down, and he asked Hiccup in a slow, quiet, but firm voice: "Hiccup, these little dragons… Are they, _technically_ … my… _grandchildren_?"

Before meeting his father's eyes, Hiccup cringed, he looked up to Stoick, clamped his eyes shut, and gave him a big nod 'yes'. What followed was the sound of a massive Viking chief hitting the floor after he had passed out and the whole room shook!

Hiccup and Gobber teamed up to sit Stoick on his favorite chair until he came to.

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The chief wasn't out long, once he was awake again, he motioned Hiccup to follow him outside.

"So, you and Astrid…?"

Hiccup wrote in the snow: ' _Yes, we're mates.'_

"Hiccup, how did this happen?"

 _'_ _What do you think happened?'_

"This is serious, Hiccup! I have a responsibility to the tribe while also trying to break this curse, and now you have a responsibility to those dragons as well as Astrid… Should I even work to break this curse now?"

 _'_ _The friends I've made, The Clan of the Cursed Axe, they've placed their hopes on us. We shouldn't let them down."_

"Alright, we'll keep working on breaking this curse, but now you need to figure out what you're going to do with these hatchlings." Stoick replied.

Hiccup gave him a nod and took flight back to his friends with that in mind.

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 **I know it's been a wait, but I hope you enjoyed this!**

 **Please review.**


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